HAPPY ANNIVERSARY

Well.... 15 years ago at this time of day I was doing something very different.  I was probably firing the D.J. at our wedding and trying to cram all of my wedding day expectations into the last hour of our reception.  Though, I definitely have A LONG WAY to go, when I think of the woman I was on June 28, 1997, I can see a huge difference between the expectation filled wife I was on day one and who I am today.  By God's grace he gave me a patient and understanding husband in Jason and I am thankful for and feel pretty underserving of the life I'm living today.  I never would have imagined then that we would celebrate our 15th anniversary sleeping in the same room as our children, glowing with sweat, having dinner with 8 twenty-somethings sitting with us at the table and celebrating with a rousing round of Happy Anniversary to You sung at the top of their lungs followed by $10 per gallon ice cream.  It was PERFECT!

Jason is feeling better than yesterday, but looking forward to being back to full health.  Thank you for continued prayers.

Today was a stay home day.  It was nice to do some laundry, go to the market, and run errands for the house.  I LOVE that sort of thing.  Right now it is pouring down rain and we are waiting for a break in the storm to go "home" for the night.  We are staying at the World Wide Village staff home which is a quick walk from the guest house.  Here are pictures of our anniversary morning room situation and anniversary celebration, as well as a photo of the Minnesota team that left today and Brooklyn finding a butterfly.  It had a broken wing, so being the practical girl that she is, she named it Broken.

The view from our romantic hide away.

Enjoying some movie time.

Broken... the butterfly friend

What is that you ask?  MANGO!!!! Jason's Haiti highlight.

Oh yeah... Starbucks Vanilla Frapuccino.

A GOOD START TO THE WEEK

We had a good start to the week.  We have continued to travel around with the team from Minnesota and they have richly blessed us.  They are incredibly affirming to the kids and just down right great people.  On Monday and Tuesday Jason and I got to go with a translator into a few different homes and sit on their porches and talk about families.  We weren't shocked by the things we heard, but we had a lot of fun talking with them and asking a lot of questions.  People were very willing to share their, what seemed to be, honest truth with us and we were excited to begin our research here on families.

Brooklyn continues to draw a crowd everywhere she goes.  One surprising thing is that when we have gone into places that have vendors, they all want to give her something for free.  So far she has scored a bracelet and a purse!  Today she stole the heart of the Pastor in the village we were in.  He had sliced up a watermelon and served everyone a piece.  While she was walking she tripped and fell and the watermelon went flying.  He quickly grabbed her a new piece and in between whimpers she said, "me.....ci" (Creole for thank you.)  I wish I could have captured the smile on his face!  Cameron is INCREDIBLE with the kids.  He is able to spend hours playing soccer in the HOT sun.  I don't know how he does it, but it is such a bridge builder.  I'm proud of Katelyn too!  She is diving right in to help wherever and always brings that HUGE smile with her.  She definitely knows how to light up a room.

On a separate note, please pray for Jason.  He is sick right now.  He has been sick in Haiti before, so we aren't too concerned, but it is definitely a bummer.

Love and hugs to all of you!!!!

SUNDAY FUNDAY

Sorry for the video announcement fail at church this morning.  If you want to see what we put together, here you go!  Today was Sunday funday.  We got to go to an English speaking church and then have lunch together and swim in a pool.  We are a bit burnt, but boy did we have fun!

A GOOD FIRST DAY

Today was a good one.  We visited Luly and Williamson, two communities that we have been to before.  It was wonderful to see familiar faces and have them remember Jason and I and then to introduce them to our kids.  Kate and Cam did AWESOME, which is not a shocker, but Brooklyn definitely surprised us the most.  She had a crowd around her in Luly and figured out how to ask them their names in Creole.  They repeatedly asked her her name, I think just to hear her voice.  The Haitian kids were enamored with her and it was great to see her approach it with confidence.  I was incredibly proud to me the mom of these three kids and can't wait to watch them see and experience more.

Highlights for today....

-Watching Brooklyn

-Eating watermelon

-Having cake with ice cream for dessert.... a REAL treat

-Being here with my family